In-vitro cyto-toxicity, geno-toxicity, and bio-imaging evaluation of one-pot synthesized luminescent functionalized mesoporous SiO2@Eu(OH)3 core-shell microspheres.

UNLABELLED: Luminescent functionalized mesoporous SiO2@Eu(OH)3 core-shell microspheres (LFMCSMs) were prepared by coating of europium hydroxide (Eu(OH)3) shell on mesoporous silica (SiO2) nanospheres via a facile one-pot process at low temperature. The FETEM images revealed that a well-defined luminescent europium hydroxide shell was successfully grafted on the surface of mesoporous silica nanospheres. These experimental results showed that the LFMCSM has a typical diameter of ca. 392 nm consisting of the silica core with about 230 nm in diameter and europium hydroxide shell with an average thickness of about 162 nm. LFMCSMs exhibited strong red emission peak upon irradiation with ultraviolet light, which originated from the electric-dipole transition (5)D0 → (7)F2 (614 nm) of Eu(3+) ion. The biocompatibility of the synthesized LFMCSMs was evaluated in vitro by assessing their cytotoxic and genotoxic effect on human hepatoblastoma (HepG2) cells using MTT, TUNEL, fluorescent staining, DNA ladder and Gene expression assays respectively.

FROM THE CLINICAL EDITOR: This paper describes the development of a one-pot synthesis of luminescent mesoporous SiO2@Eu(OH)3 core-shell microspheres and evaluates their favorable in vitro cyto-toxicity and geno-toxicity, and their applications in bio-imaging of these particles that emit bright red signal under UV exposure.